Geotechnical Challenges of Kolkata Metro Construction

Abstract

The paper gives an account of the Kolkata Metro construction which included the first underground railway for mass rapid transit system of an Indian city. Construction was started in 1975 and the first line of the metro covering a length of 17 km was opened in 1984. Thereafter construction had been taken up in phases. Currently Kolkata metro construction includes an ambitious package of 140 km of underground, at grade and viaduct stretches. Construction has to be done in very difficult condition through congested urban areas which includes a tunnel below the Ganga river. Resource crunch and construction through heavily built-up urban land extended the period of construction but modern design techniques and field instrumentation have helped to ensure high quality work in densely populated urban centre.